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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28668435">Brain Stew</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/aripriprazole/pseuds/aripriprazole'>aripriprazole</a>, <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/TRASHCAKE/pseuds/TRASHCAKE'>TRASHCAKE</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Stray Kids (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Chan Needs A Nap, Jisung is the best character and he's in it for like two seconds, M/M, Manix Pixie Dream Felix, Recreational Drug Use, STEM Majors Chanlix, Steamy Makeouts in a Car, Strangers to Lovers, Vaguely based on a true story, mention of car accidents, very vaguely</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 04:55:35</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,551</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28668435</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/aripriprazole/pseuds/aripriprazole, https://archiveofourown.org/users/TRASHCAKE/pseuds/TRASHCAKE</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Felix is pink hair, bags filled with cash and pills, chemistry degrees and late-night drives. Chan finds himself inconvenienced, then enamoured.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Bang Chan/Lee Felix</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>179</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Brain Stew</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>So this (kinda) actually happened to me about a year ago, but with a lot of twists to it. My version involved two people, a lot more driving and far, far less romance. But it makes for a good story and I spent the whole 4hr ordeal listening to skz, so this fic came to be. </p><p>Title from the Green Day song of the same name</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>Jisung</b><br/>
<i>bro</i><br/>
<i>i know ur awake</i><br/>
<i>call me?</i>
</p><p>Chan’s phone lights up on the corner of his desk, lighting up with incoming messages. His hands are tired, shaking with caffeine jitters, reaching for the device before it vibrates straight off the table. He reaches his phone in time, but completely misses the mug sitting precariously on the edge of his desk.</p><p>All fumbling knocks it towards the floor, and he winces in anticipation for the loud crash of porcelain on old floorboards.</p><p>It doesn’t come.</p><p>His house came pre-decorated, and for the first time, Chan finds himself suddenly thankful for all the multicoloured rag rugs that his landlord insisted make a home inside his bedroom. </p><p>
  <b>Jisung</b><br/>
<i>can i add to my iou?</i><br/>
<i>its an emergency</i><br/>
<i>plzzzzzzz call</i>
</p><p>The cursor blinks at the end of his sentence, a half-finished pathology essay written in the dead of night. Chan’s dual monitor setup has his assignment on one screen, and multiple teratoma images on another. He’s doing alright for time and getting kinda sick of weird monster tumours. </p><p>Jisung’s inevitably weird request might be a good way to clear his head.</p><p>“It’s 3am,” Chan says, not bothering with a greeting. Jisung picks up the phone, first ring. Someone in the background is listening to Tame Impala through their phone speakers. Knowing Jisung and knowing the time, it’s most likely Hyunjin.</p><p>“Which is why I messaged you,” Jisung drawls. Hyunjin greets him, barely audible through the terrible quality of the phone call. “You’re awake and you’re like, close. Perfect man for the job.”</p><p>“I live in the middle of nowhere,” Chan points out. Jisung should know this, considering that his dealer is Chan’s next-door neighbour. It’s how they met, actually— Chan running an errand for their shared landlord, and Jisung making a house call.</p><p>“My friend is kinda stuck in the middle of your nowhere,” he sounds far too proud of himself for that one, considering the fact that Jisung is most definitely too stoned to function. "So, yeah, perfect."</p><p>"What am I doing and how illegal is it?"</p><p>Chan makes it sound like he's inconvenienced by the request, but he's honestly about one awkward, unfixable sentence from a head-clearing night drive, anyway. Jisung probably knows it. He may be an unapologetic stoner, but he knows Chan better than he'd like to admit.</p><p>"A friend of mine was heading here, but he crashed on the mountain."</p><p>It's not an uncommon story. The mountain Chan calls home straddles the line between rural and urban, a relatively low peak along the edge of a sprawling city. The residents have been living the cottagecore aesthetic before the term even came to be, but sometimes local youths like to drive their obnoxiously loud cars up and down the winding paths.</p><p>Jisung's friend isn't the first crash Chan has seen, not even in the past month. It's not the first and he doubts it'll be the last.</p><p>"He alright?" Chan has to ask. Sometimes the crashes aren't that serious, sometimes they require medical assistance he's not yet qualified to give. "And you didn't answer my question about legality."</p><p>"He's fine, and he's my friend," Jisung informs him. "How legal do you think this is?"</p><p>Chan sighs, already slipping on his shoes and heading out the sliding door of his granny flat. He's thankful that his live-in landlord takes out her hearing aids at 8pm, because the sound of Chan's car would definitely have woken her up.</p><p>He may judge the kids in loud cars for trying to race up the mountain, but that doesn't mean he's not one of them.</p><p>"You got a location for me?" The sound of Chan's engine drowns out Jisung's reply, but thankfully his Bluetooth kicks in at the opportune moment.</p><p>"— fudge shop? Some dudes dropped him there on the way down."</p><p>Chan groans. The shop is owned by his landlord's best friend, and she'll absolutely have spotted the strange kid lingering outside her store by now, and most likely have called the cops, already.</p><p>What's more, is that she knows Chan's car, and if she sees him pick this dude up, she'll have some choice words for him, next time he's in for his weekly supply of caramel fudge.</p><p>"You owe me," Chan grumbles, hooking an arm around the passenger side headrest, reversing his car out along the gravel driveway and onto the road.</p><p>"Add it to my tab," Jisung says. He's never once made good on his previous IOU's, and it's unlikely that he'll offer compensation for his most recent request. Jisung seems to know this, snickering in harmony with Hyunjin in the background.</p><p>Chan hangs up on him.</p><p>------</p><p>The drive down the mountain is calming, and that's probably why Chan does it so often. Not just for errands and classes, but to clear his head from time to time. He knows every twist and bend like the back of his hand, and his confidence with the road has him taking each corner at speeds that are a little too high to be considered safe.</p><p>From the peak to the tourist trap cluster of shops at the base of the mountain is a forty five minute drive, but Chan can cut a good ten minutes off if he tries. It's probably what his mysterious passenger tried, too, and is probably why he sees a crumpled wreck of a silver Lancer halfway through his trip.</p><p>Chan slows, and notices that the license plates of the car have already been removed. Probably by the owner, hoping to throw the cops off their trail before a civilian tow truck can get to the wreckage.</p><p>Jisung has him in a Tame Impala mood, and <i>the less I know the better</i> seems strangely fitting for his current situation. Someone wants to avoid police involvement, and Chan hopes to remain as ignorant as possible in the possibility that they're caught.</p><p>With no traffic at all and Chan's knowledge of the roads, it doesn't take long for him to round the bend onto the main strip, spotting someone sat beneath the flickering street light outside the artisanal fudge store, the phone in his hand illuminating his face with blue light.</p><p>He pulls up next to the kid, rolls his window down and leans out the window.</p><p>"You Jisung's friend?" he asks. The kid's head pops up, eyes visibly glazed and pupils blown. It takes him a second to register Chan's question, but he smiles and nods.</p><p>He's obviously under the influence of <i>something</i>, the combination of whatever is in his system and the unfamiliar roads combining to cause the crash. Chan pieces together the vague story with the information he has— this kid would be booked for driving under the influence, so he's waiting until the drugs have left his system to deal with the mess he's made.</p><p>Smart move, yet absolutely illegal. Chan can't help but admire his quick thinking, especially considering his current state.</p><p>"Cheers," he slurs through the open window, fingers fumbling over the handle on the passenger side door. "You're a lifesaver."</p><p>He's cute, Chan notices. Big eyes, pink hair. Light catches on his septum piercing as he wrinkles his nose.</p><p>"I never got your name..." Chan trails off. Jisung hasn't been very forthcoming with information. He rarely is. Chan has to wonder why they're friends.</p><p>" 'lix," comes the sleepy, mumbled reply. Chan's passenger burrows his face into the headrest as he speaks. "Felix."</p><p>"I'm— "</p><p>"Channie? Chan, right?" Felix blinks up at him slowly. Chan coughs, breaking the eye contact as he pulls back out onto the street. "You're the dude into dead shit, yeah?"</p><p>"<i>Into dead</i>— " Chan cuts himself off, keeping his hands at ten and two, resisting the urge to facepalm. "I'm doing med, aiming to be a coroner."</p><p>"They're the autopsy fuckers, right?" Felix's head rolls to the side, his gaze catching on Chan's half-drunk can of Red Bull in the cupholder. He reaches for it and takes a sip without asking. "I'd call that being into dead shit."</p><p>"It's interesting, okay?"</p><p>He doesn't know why he's so defensive, especially with a stranger he's never met and will likely never meet again. He also doesn't know how well an energy drink will interact with whatever is in Felix's system, but he's already finished the can.</p><p>"If you think it's interesting, I think it's interesting," Felix says after a moment. He fiddles with his seatbelt, tugging the strap away from his chest. "Besides, you don't look half as weird as Jisung makes you out to be."</p><p>"Just what kinda shit does he talk when I'm not around?" he questions out loud. Felix snorts.</p><p>"He says that when he dies, he wants you to be the one who cuts him up."</p><p>Chan stares blankly at the road in front of him.</p><p>"And he calls me the weird one," he says.</p><p>"Yep," Felix pops the p, lips smacking lazily as he speaks. "You can take it up with him when you drop me off, though."</p><p>Fingers tightening around the steering wheel, a shaky exhale.</p><p>They’re in the mountains, and Jisung lives in the suburbs on the other side of the city. Jisung's house is a good hour away, maybe a little less if Chan drives fast. He’s just agreed to a nearly two hour round trip for someone he's never met on behalf of someone who absolutely won't help pay for petrol.</p><p>Chan sighs once more.</p><p>He really needs to ask more questions, especially when Jisung is involved.</p><p>------</p><p>Chan learns three things about Felix during the first twenty minutes of their drive.</p><p>First: he apparently took Xanax before his little joy ride. Xanax and nothing else. </p><p>Which leads to the second point: Chan’s pretty sure that he's lying. Somewhere in the vaguely incoherent conversation that follows, Felix mentions taking responsibility for the contents of his backpack in the event of police involvement.</p><p>The third and most concerning point, is that Felix is fucking gorgeous. Chan may be inconvenienced and sleep-deprived, but he's still able to see that his passenger is an attractive dude, especially adorable in his dazed and sleepy state.</p><p>Felix grows increasingly more chatty as the Red Bull starts to kick in and the drugs wear out, swapping between subjects halfway through a sentence as his mind wanders. It's cute. It's really cute, and Chan is so unbelievably endeared.</p><p>"You hungry?" Felix asks, not fifteen minutes into their drive. His head hasn't stopped moving since Chan picked him up, finally coming to rest against the window. Felix tilts his gaze towards Chan, his cheek still resting against the cool glass. "Cuz, like, I'm super hungry."</p><p>"Nowhere is open," Chan points out. They've reached the base of the mountain, making their way towards the highway and Jisung's house beyond. "Especially not around here."</p><p>"If we see a McDonald's on the way, we're stopping," Felix says, as if he has any say in the matter. Chan scoffs, but already plans a route towards their destination that coincides with a pair of golden arches.</p><p>"You're paying," he finally says. Chan has enough money on him to pay for his own breakfast, but he's so rarely offered compensation that he'll take any opportunity presented.</p><p>"Gotcha," Felix winks. He rummages around in his contraband bag, and pulls out a wad of cash. "Think that'll be enough?"</p><p>"Jesus Christ," Chan coughs. The mass of notes in Felix's hand could cover his rent. "Yes, I think that'll be enough."</p><p>"Don't spend it all," he waves the notes under Chan's nose with a laugh. "I still gotta pay for a new car, you know?"</p><p>Chan remembers the wreck he saw on the way down. Not beyond repair, but definitely with enough damage that an entirely new ride is the cheaper option. He's got enough context clues that the lead up to the crash is obvious, but Chan finds that he likes the sound of Felix's voice and wants the full story from him, anyway.</p><p>"About that," he starts. Felix's hands tighten on his seatbelt. "What happened, exactly?"</p><p>"Man, I dunno, hey," Felix whines, "like, I had my meds but I'm usually good to drive? One second my eyes were closed, the next I was upside down."</p><p>"I should have asked earlier, but you're not hurt, are you?"</p><p>"Bruised," he rubs at his shoulder with a wince. "But nothing out of the ordinary."</p><p>Chan wonders how he can be so sure, especially considering his condition. But before he can even voice the follow up question, Felix answers for him.</p><p>"I'm trained in first aid," he supplies with a lazy grin. Chan wonders if his smile always looks like that, or if it's just the drugs in his system making him lethargic. "Part of my job, yanno?"</p><p>Felix is studying his masters in Chemistry and works as a tech for first year chem labs as a side gig. It’s admirable, though his motivations and intentions behind years of study are less pure than Chan's are. </p><p>Then again, Chan's spending countless dollars and twelve years of his life in order to cut up dead people, so he doesn't feel like he can comment.</p><p>"When you're fucked up, you think," Felix explains. "I got real curious about drugs and like, the science behind them and shit,” he smiles to himself, bites his lip. Chan’s fingers tighten around the steering wheel. “I applied for a chem degree after a night at Jisung's."</p><p>He laughs, and it's beautiful. Chan's heart lurches in his chest.</p><p>"I got the acceptance letter and was super confused, because I didn't remember signing up in the first place."</p><p>"Wild," Chan breathes, unable to add any more input to the conversation. He's always known what he's wanted to do, and he can't quite comprehend the almost careless nature of Felix's studies.</p><p>He must like it well enough, having made it all the way to postgraduate study with no intentions of stopping. Felix offers confirmation of the fact, almost fondly, when Chan asks.</p><p>"A doctorate of Chemistry," he beams proudly. He picks up his bag, before shaking it in Chan’s direction. Chan can hear the clang of metal—presumably his scavenged license plate— followed by the telltale rattling of pills. "I could make all this shit by second year, but now I’m extra qualified."</p><p>"Good to know?"</p><p>"Don’t worry," Felix sighs, letting his bag fall back into the mess of cans and empty wrappers at his feet. "I'll be good and keep buying it, let some other dumbfuck take the fall when they get caught."</p><p>“You’re something else, you know that?” </p><p>Felix smiles against the glass. </p><p>“I know.” </p><p>------ </p><p>Chan is usually good at keeping himself awake during late night drives. Excessively unhealthy energy drink consumption, loud music to sing along to, or the tried and true method of explaining medical concepts as if teaching an invisible class. </p><p>Felix has finished the last of the single energy drink he thought to bring along, and the other options seem like too much for a first meeting. Jisung has already ruined whatever image Chan wanted to have, but cementing that he’s a certified nerd is a little too much. </p><p>Driving over the speed limit has earned him <i>some</i> cool points, judging by the delicate raise of Felix’s eyebrow as the engine revs. Chan doesn’t know why he wants to impress the boy half asleep in his passenger seat, or why he’ll stop at nothing for that approval. </p><p>“I’m stealing the aux,” Felix says, breaking the few minutes of uncomfortable silence. “And I’m gonna play weird shit, but you’re not allowed to complain.” </p><p>“What happened to <i>driver’s choice</i>?” </p><p>“The driver has the <i>radio</i> on when there’s a perfectly good aux cord right here,” he grunts, flicking through his phone before selecting a song. As promised, it’s weird shit, but Chan finds himself tapping along to the vague rhythm, anyway. </p><p>Whatever pumps through his speakers is loud enough to momentarily shock Chan back into a half-awake state, with Felix starting to perk up after the first drop. </p><p>“Hey,” he says, lowering the volume. Chan can feel eyes on him, but refuses to look away from the road in order to save his sanity. “Let’s play a game, or something.” </p><p>“What can we play? I spy?” </p><p>With a gesture, he motions to the blurred surroundings out the window. The highway offers nothing but lights and the occasional fellow motorist as potential subjects, with the contents of Chan’s car being limited to empty cans and an air freshener. </p><p>“I spy with my little eye, something beginning with <i>super hot boy driving me home</i>,” Felix says. Chan chokes. “I was thinking more of a question game? Get to know each other better, you know?” </p><p>Chan and his thoughts don’t have the option to linger on Felix’s comments, or the fact that he actually wants them to become more than vague acquaintances, before Felix launches into three separate stories. Chan’s job is to guess which one of them is a lie, and his answer is honestly all of them. </p><p>He tells Felix as such— needle stab wounds, an attempt to learn Russian because of a fleeting interest in Hardbass and photographic evidence of him in a cat ear headband— it’s all too much. </p><p>“Please tell me you haven’t been stabbed,” Chan finally manages to wheeze out. He’s recognised the language in Felix’s music of choice. The song titles appear on his head unit and they’re all in Russian. He’s not sure which is worse: a night out ending in a stab wound or the most attractive person he’s ever seen, now with cat ears. </p><p>“Ding, ding, ding!” Felix trills. His laughter is incredible. Chan would rather listen to it than whatever is playing over the speakers. “That was my housemate, not me. And a long story.” </p><p>“We’ve got time,” Chan motions for him to continue. “I kinda wanna hear about it.” </p><p>“You don’t wanna hear about the cat ears?” Felix grins to himself as if he’s won something. Chan supposes he has. “I’ve got the photos on my phone.” </p><p>“Maybe later?” Chan tries. Felix laughs at him for it, pulls out his phone and shoves it right into Chan’s line of sight. </p><p>“<i>Jesus</i>.” </p><p>Chan has to keep his eyes on the road, even though they’re empty. But he sees enough, a glimpse of a photo that burns itself into his memory. Chan blinks and the image stays there, hiding behind his eyelid every time they close. </p><p>“What do you think?” Felix asks. He’s winning both the battle and the war. “Cute, huh?” </p><p>“Very,” Chan’s voice is strained, tight. “I barely saw it, but yeah, uh, super cute.” </p><p>It’s not the word he would have used, but it’s the one Felix supplied so Chan follows suit. </p><p>“Sorry,” he trails off. His sentence fades into a beat of awkward silence. “I’m not usually this, uh, forward? I guess?” </p><p>“No?” </p><p>“I’m gonna blame the xanny on this one,” Felix slumps against the window once more, watching the streetlights pass them by. “I still think you’re hot, I just would have been a little more shy about it.”</p><p>“If it’s any consolation, it’s mutual,” Chan says. He keeps his eyes on the road, but the motion of Felix perking up is more than visible in his periphery. </p><p>“I know you mean that you think I’m cute,” Felix starts. He slumps again, this time onto Chan’s shoulder. “But my first thought was that you’ve got a Xanax plug, and I was gonna ask for their name.” </p><p>“I get it from Jisung,” Chan mumbles. Felix cackles, loud and amused, right into his ear. </p><p>“<i>Same</i>,” he says. Chan cracks a smile. </p><p>“I was serious about getting to know each other, you know,” Felix taps at his cheek with his pointer finger. “Gotta be more to you than dead shit.” </p><p>“Not really.” </p><p>Chan isn’t lying. His life consists of study and not much else. The occasional night out with Jisung here and there, but he doesn’t often remember those. </p><p>“Then tell me about dead shit.” </p><p>Chan sighs, turns his head slightly to the side. Their faces are close, and Felix’s eyes look far less droopy than when Chan picked him up. He seems to be cuddly for the sake of it, smiling up at Chan like pathology is the most interesting topic in the world. </p><p>“Okay,” he relents, pulling his gaze back onto the road. “But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”</p><p>------ </p><p>Chan would never have guessed that Felix is, well, a nerd. It should have been obvious, what with his academic ambitions. But as soon as the topic turns from pathology to chemistry, Chan gets to see Felix in his element. </p><p>He would gladly go back to first year, change his degree, swap universities— just to enrol in one of Felix’s classes and experience his enthusiasm in a lab. </p><p>Felix lights up with a laugh when Chan tells him as such. He’s still resting on Chan’s shoulder, little puffs of breath lighting up the skin of Chan’s neck every time he laughs. The conversation is good, the sensations maddening. </p><p>Chan is enraptured. </p><p>“Sneak in anyway,” Felix says like it’s nothing. And maybe it is. The consequences don’t seem to matter to Felix and it’s utterly breathtaking. “I’ll tell you when I’m doing the white phosphorus demo, that’s always a fun one.” </p><p>“I thought chemistry was more about waiting and recording things,” Chan wants to turn his head and catch Felix’s lips in a kiss. He refrains, keeping his eyes forward. “That’s what they told <i>me</i> back in first year.”</p><p>“Yeah, but sometimes those things explode,” Felix smiles against the skin of Chan’s neck. “Which is the difference between med chem and the real shit.” </p><p>“Med chem <i>is</i> real chem, asshole.”</p><p>“It’s not <i>fun</i> chem.”</p><p>“You can say that again.” </p><p>The silence that falls is comfortable this time, with Felix humming along to the song he’s playing on Chan’s aux— still in Russian, just a little softer than the experimental tracks he’d chosen earlier. </p><p>Felix is easy to talk to. They’re two nerds on the same wavelength, and not once did he dry heave as Chan spoke in detail about the most fascinating tumour specimen pots he’s seen. He's smart, he’s fun, he’s unbelievably gorgeous. </p><p>Chan’s plan of dropping him off at Jisung’s apartment and heading home to sleep have all but flown out the window. </p><p>“Hey,” Chan says, pointing to an upcoming sign along the freeway. “You still hungry?” </p><p>Felix lifts his head and squints, catching sight of the advertisement looking over the stretch of highway, eyes lighting up as he reads its promised message of a McDonald’s within five minutes drive. </p><p>“Oh <i>fuck yeah</i>,” Felix groans, “I could vore some fries right now.”</p><p>“Hey Felix?” </p><p>“Yeah?” </p><p>“You’re banned from speaking for the rest of the night.” </p><p>Felix laughs, loud and obnoxious, right into Chan’s ear.</p><p>------ </p><p>Felix doesn’t take Chan’s joke to heart, keeping silent for one whole minute before he suggests that they dine in instead of eating their fries on their way to Jisung’s house. </p><p>He makes an argument about not wanting to leave anything on the floor of Chan’s car, but they die the second that Felix’s foot accidentally crumples an old Red Bull can with the shifting of his feet. </p><p>“You wanna tell me the real reason?” Chan asks, pulling off the freeway and into the McDonald’s parking lot. </p><p>“Wanna spend more time with you,” Felix mumbles into the collar of Chan’s shirt. “So sue me.” </p><p>“I get what you mean,” Chan pulls his car into park, killing the ignition. He sits there for a second, the tension between them growing thicker under the fluorescent glow of the streetlights. </p><p>Felix pulls back from his shoulder, and he’s illuminated by the light. Compliments threaten to drip past Chan’s lips but he swallows them back in time, offering Felix a small smile before he’s all but throwing himself out of the car. </p><p>Mutual attraction is one thing, but acting on it without a sign is another. Felix takes his hand as they fall into step, acting as if privy to Chan’s internal conflict. He ducks his head away from Chan’s questioning gaze, but holds on tighter, unwilling to let go. </p><p>Like Chan would even dream of that— Felix is <i>something else</i> and he’s dying to see where the hand he holds will guide him. </p><p>“I couldn’t see you properly, before,” Chan says. The automatic restaurant doors part for them, lost in their own world. </p><p>“Disappointed?” </p><p>“Not at all.” </p><p>Chan pretends he doesn’t see the flush of heat along Felix’s cheeks as they make their way towards the counter. </p><p>True to his word, Felix orders his weight’s worth of fries, and Chan joins him. Neither of them makes an effort to let go, awkwardly wrangling their orders into one hand before slinking towards the back of the restaurant, a hidden corner with as much privacy that a public place can allow. </p><p>Felix only lets go of his hand to shove fries into Chan’s mouth, setting off a chain reaction of rambunctious laughter that has them on the ends of a few dirty looks, courtesy of the poor workers who aren’t paid enough to put up with them.</p><p>Shooting an apologetic wave their way, Chan wipes the excess salt and grease from his chin with a scowl. </p><p>“What’d you do that for?” He mumbles. Felix wordlessly hands him a napkin.</p><p>“Dunno,” shrugs Felix. “Thought it would be funny.” </p><p>Chan keeps the now playful scowl on his face as Felix tries once again to feed him. “I promise I’ll be nice this time,” he says. </p><p>Instead of taking the fries, Chan instead decides to lick the salt from Felix’s finger, taking the bite once he hears an offended squeak. Smiling to himself, he straightens his back and laughs as Felix stares at the tips of his fingers. </p><p>“Don’t do that,” he whines. “We’re in public.” </p><p>“We’ve been annoying since we got here,” Chan points out. He steals one of Felix’s fries, despite having plenty of his own. “How’s that any worse?” </p><p>“It was hot,” Felix makes direct eye contact as he slides the same finger into his own mouth, licking away the remnants of salt that Chan missed. “I don’t wanna start something my morals won’t let me finish.” </p><p>“<i>God</i>,” Chan breathes. Felix beams at him like he’s not a walking wet dream, filled to the brim with implications that Chan’s sleep deprived brain can’t handle. “You’re something else.” </p><p>“So you’ve said,” Felix takes one last sip from his drink before reconnecting their hands. His finger is still a little wet against Chan’s, and it has him sucking in a breath. “We should head back to your car. </p><p>More implications, and Chan is starting to believe that Felix means them. He rushes to stand, slipping his hand into the back pocket of Felix’s jeans as they go. </p><p>He’s all but certain that the poor McDonald’s workers are happy to see the back of them. </p><p>------ </p><p>Felix makes his intentions clear when he walks directly to the back seat of Chan’s car, opens the door and gestures for him to climb through. </p><p>And Chan does so without question, scrambling if not a little desperately, until he’s propped up on his elbows, watching the way that the streetlights halo around Felix’s hair. He’s practically buzzing with <i>something</i>— excitement, anticipation, nervousness. </p><p>He’s still not entirely convinced that this is real, that Felix is perfect and tangible and <i>wants</i> him. </p><p>But he is and he does, because Felix doesn’t laugh at Chan’s overeager desperation, he simply follows after and seats himself over Chan’s hips, pushing forward for a kiss and barely managing to close the door behind him before he does. </p><p>It’s not what Chan expects— slow and searching, Felix sighs into his mouth as he holds Chan by the sides of his face, tilting his head and kissing him deeper. </p><p>Chan doesn’t know where to put his hands, but settles on Felix’s thighs, feeling the way they tense and move under his palms every time he shifts. </p><p>“You’re beautiful,” Chan whispers, desperately chasing Felix’s lips as he pulls away. Felix beams at him in reply, taking his pointer finger to Chan’s forehead and pushing it back, exposing his throat for the line of kisses that all but burn into his skin. </p><p>“And you are the hottest person I’ve ever seen in my life,” Felix mutters, breathing out a ragged breath against Chan’s throat. “And the nerd shit is hot, too,” he kisses Chan square on the mouth. “Never thought I’d get worked up from talking about tumours, but here we are.” </p><p>Chan laughs at this, pulls Felix down for another kiss that has him reeling. </p><p>He’s happy to stay with Felix, making out in the back of his car until the sun rises and more hungry motorists start to pull in, but the universe—and Jisung— has other plans. </p><p>“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” Chan groans, the unrelenting vibrating from his back pocket is finally starting to annoy him. Felix giggles at him as they attempt to rearrange their limbs, sitting side by side as Chan rummages for his phone. </p><p>“Let him wait,” Felix says, pressing kisses onto Chan’s jaw.</p><p>Chan fumbles with his phone, dropping it to the carpeted floor of his backseat. From its position on the floor, it lights up again, Jisung’s name and contact photo glowing in the darkness. </p><p>“He’s probably worried,” Chan manages with a groan, retrieving the device and answering the call. </p><p>He barely manages to mumble a greeting, before Jisung interrupts. “You answered!” he screeches. Chan can hear Hyunjin scream <i>finally!</i> in the background, just another reason why Jisung’s neighbours hate them all. “So that means you’re not dead or in jail, so did you lose Felix?” </p><p>“Hey ‘sung!” Felix trills. He grins at Chan as they share the speaker, before settling back into his side and re-affixing his lips to Chan’s neck. </p><p>“We got chatting and didn’t notice the time,” Chan tries to bite back a moan and barely manages. He’s just glad that Jisung is too stoned to notice. “Sorry, man.” </p><p>“I should have figured you’d hit it off—”</p><p>Whatever Jisung says afterwards is lost to Chan, as his mind and attention are drawn back to Felix’s mouth and how wonderfully he uses it. This kiss is a little more audible, mostly due to Felix’s pleased little hum as Chan threads his hand through his hair. </p><p>“—are you guys <i>making out</i>!?” </p><p>“Sorry,” Felix says into the receiver, the phone dangling awkwardly between Chan’s neck and shoulder. “Got, uh, distracted?” </p><p>“I guess that means you’ll be joining us tonight, eh, loverboy?” Jisung sounds far too smug for his own good, and Chan knows that if, when, whatever is between them comes to a title, Jisung will be there ready to take all the credit. </p><p>And he’ll happily give it to him. </p><p>Especially when Felix takes the phone, promptly disconnecting the call. He swings a leg over Chan’s hips and settles back onto his lap, playing with the wayward curls of Chan’s hair with a smile. </p><p>“I think he can wait a few more minutes,” he says. </p><p>Chan can’t agree more.</p><p>------ </p><p>Felix swings their hands between them as they walk towards Jisung’s door. Clothes rumpled, hair messy, but beaming. The first rays of the sunrise peak over the hill that Jisung’s apartment building resides on, and while tired, Chan couldn’t be happier. </p><p>Hyunjin and Jisung seem to have waited up for them, as they’re both on one of Jisung’s many couches as they make their way through the unlocked door. Greeted by the sight of Hyunjin scrolling through his phone with a joint dangling between elegant fingers, Jisung blows a plume of smoke at them as they cross through the threshold. </p><p>“He planned that,” Hyunjin mentions casually, not even bothering to look up from his phone. “Just so you’re aware.” </p><p>Jisung replaces his awful, Gatorade bottle and hose pipe bong on the table, before picking up one of his many cushions and aiming it at Hyunjin’s face. </p><p>He misses. </p><p>Hyunjin ignores him. </p><p>“Sorry,” Chan says, rather unapologetically. “Something, uh, came up?” </p><p>“Oh I bet it did,” Jisung snorts. Hyunjin shoots him a look before ashing into the empty Pepsi can at his feet. </p><p>“Take your time, babies,” Hyunjin says, “young love is precious and all that bullshit.” </p><p>As Jisung and Hyunjin begin to bicker about the meaning of love, Chan drags Felix to an adjacent couch, pulling him into his arms as they tumble onto the cushions. </p><p>“This is my favourite couch here,” Felix says, fiddling with the collar of Chan’s shirt. “How’d you know?” </p><p>“It’s mine, too,” Chan replies. Felix decides it’s a great time to pick up where they left off, sliding his hands beneath the hem of Chan’s shirt and licking into his mouth. </p><p>“Get a room!” Jisung calls out. He throws another misaimed pillow in their direction, one that nearly knocks his bong from the table. “But like, not mine, that’s my sacred space, my dudes.” </p><p>Hyunjin rolls his eyes. “So what's,” he exhales a plume of smoke, gesturing to Chan and Felix with his joint. “You know, <i>this</i>?” </p><p>Felix and Chan exchange a look. </p><p>“Something,” Chan says, finally. </p><p>“Something,” Felix agrees. </p><p>Chan can only hope that with time, it turns into something great.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Felix buys a nice new car and they make out in it a lot. </p><p>The end.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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